The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-08
TIE COLLISION AT REPUBLIC.
Beginning Of the Coroners Investigations
Drunkenness Of the Freight Engineer.
HALTER AND FURRIER.

CLEVELAND, O., Jan. THE inquest into the
causes of the Baltimore & Ohio wreck, at Re-
public, o., begun at o'clock this afternoon
at Tffn. A special to the Leader says that the
City Hall. where the inquest is being held was
crowded. The first witness examined was L. F.
Fletcher, conductor of the freight train He
said: f'Ei Killer was engineer of the freight,
and W. J. Culson fireman. We ran from Tiffin
10 the Seneca siding, about three and onehalf
miles east of here, and sidetracked for the
east-boInd express After this train passed we
had forty-i minutes in which to make the Re-
rnblic siding. We left this place with one hun
dred and forty pounds of steam. After going
two miles | noticed that the train was Stacking
II went forward over the cars, eighteen in
number. to the engine to see what was wrong
] found that the steam had run down to forty
pounds. opspsa -ths joar Of the furnace and
yf5t ked afthe FIRE, then looked at my watch and
Eaw that we had hu. four minutes until No 6,
ithe westbound express, was due. ! took red
and white lantern, and ran ahead to flag her. /
got about one hundred yards in the curve and
signaled to stop. As the express approached l
noticed that the engineer had reversed his en-
CINE. In the meantime. the freight had come to
jumped off when the collision occurred. The
engineer had been drinking. saw him take
two drinks of whisky at Bloo,ndale ana two at
Tostoria. When i saw we had but four minutes
. to make the siding at Republic. the engineer did
mot seem to realize the danger ahead ! tried to
got the passengers out Of tn burning cars. One
rsan jammed between the smoker and
ladies' car ! .ried to get him out, but the
flames drove me away. and he had to burn l
heard no shrieks or cries of others in the burn
ing cars"
w. j Cullison, fireman on the freight. was
neat called. He said he was farm hand and
had been Oh the road but three weeks and never
knew anything about the business before lie
said: I'VE had trouble in keeping up the fire.
We had one hundred and forty pounds of steam
when we left Seneca slang. The train ran four
i've miles, when steam was down to sixty
pounds. We were then going about three miles
pernour The conductor came in and looked at
the fire. and said it was all right When the
conductor went ahead TO flag, and saw the ey-
press coming. he yelled back for us to iump
After the collision occurred / tried to get per
sons out. saw persons in there burning but I
was so excited could tell hut lttle about it,"
Charles Snider Of Columbus o. was front
brakeman on the freight. He said. II was in
1.-The cab of the CINE, and noticed that they had
,'but one gauge of water, when they should have
had at least three. ! was going ahead to fac
but the conductor grabbed the lantern and went
j knew nothing about either the conductor or
engineer drinking. At the collision / saw a
man hanging about half way out of the smoker
who called to me for Gods sake TO help him out
The man was supposed to be NJ. III. Parks of
Washington. heard no on the inside of
the smoker"
Thamas +. Heskett, OF Wheeling W. Va
conductor Of the express on the night of the col
lision testified: The express was three min
utes late at Republic had about sixty passen-
gers, fourteen or fifteen III the smoker OF that
number Ave escaped from the smoker two bv
being thrown out of the top Of the car. unin-
jured and three somewhat injured. | think
there were not more than ten killed. | have in
my possession cards thrown from tine smoker
pebsaring the name of NJ Ii. Parks, Washington,
ID. c. There was writing the card which a
brother cf the dead man recognized on trial OF
the number killed the names of seven are
Known
B. J. Hale of Rowan. Ind, was the rear
brakeman on the freight and when the collision
occurred, no took lantern and went in the rear
about mile to flag any other train that might
be coming
The inquest will be resumed in the morning